Apparatus for preparing cane for extraction



RAMH

4 Sheets-Sheet l E. VVESSALE APPARATUS FOR PREPARING CANE FOR EXTHACTIONOriginal Filed Allg 16, I1920 Nov. 20, w23.

4 i MM. y 'u J/ M r l Nov. 2o, 1923. MMM@ E. WESSALE A PPARATUS FORPREPARING CANE FOR EXTRACTION Original Filed Aug- 16 1920 4 Sheets-Sheet2 Nov., 2U 9 QZ E. 'WESSALE APPARATUS FOR PREPARING CANE FOR EXTRACTIONI N VEA! TOR ED MHD M56 ML E 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 Original Filed Aug.

BA'ZLSY@ Nov. 20 1923.

E. VVESSALE APPARATUS FOR PREPARING GANE FOR EXTRMTION4 Original FiledAug. 16, 1920 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 [/v VEN *ro/Rf En www lf/f/VLE PatentedNov.. 20, i923.

EDWARD VVESSALE, OF WACONIA, l/.l.'Il\TNl:lSOTA.V

APPARATUS FOR PREPRING CANE FOR EXTRACTON.

@riginal application filed August 16, Y1920, Serial No. 403,996.V

Divided and this application filed February 1v, 1922. semi No. 537,252.

To all l1li/10my t may concern.:

Be it known that I, 'EDWARD lllnssaLE, a citizen of the United States,resident of Viaeoiiia, county of Carver, State. of Minne- 5 sota, haveinvented certain new and useful improvements in Apparatus for PreparingCane for Extraction, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to apparatus employed in the manufacture ofsirups and sugar from sorghum and sugar cane. It incli'ldes apparatusemployed in preparing rane tor the milling process, known as theextraction, by removing the tops, leaves, sheaths, trash, pebbles, dirt,metal objects,

etc., trom the harvested cane prior to eX- tracting the juices and.sugar therefrom. The cane is mechanically passed under cutvters ot noveldesign to remove the tops, then 2O the cane is automatically conveyed toa cutting mechanism ivhereat it is cut into sections to sever the leavesand sheaths, etc., trom the cane and to reduce trash, which is among;`the cane material, to short lengths or sections and thereafter theapparatus automatically discharges the sectional cane. This unitaryapparatus thus comprises a. top-removinel mechanism, a` conveyor, astalk-cutting" mechanism, and the discharging means. These mechanismsare automatically coeoperable successively to treat the cane fedthereto.

ll or a good grade of sorghum sirup all leaves and seed heads or topsmust be removed from the cane, as these passing on through the mill tendto impart a bad flavor tothe j uice` and resultino sirup, introduce moreor .less dirt and line particles of plant material into the juice., andretard clarification. Moreover, lea-ves which have become dry have atendency to absorbjuice as it is pressed out in the mill. thusdecreasing the lYield of juice and sirup.

icrglium and sugar cane bear much foliage in the form of leaves andsheaths and also seed-heads knoivn as tops. All these together nithsuckers and some. Weeds contain n'many impurities and must be removedcompletely before subjecting them to 'the usual milling to extract thejuices as these `impurities pollute the juices. Therefore in currentprac-tice in the effort to reduce this disadvantage of gettingimpurities into the juices, it is usual manually to remove the tope,.le'anes; sheathe, and 1 trash (suckers and can vnot effectively done.

lea-ves, etc.,

weeds) before or during the harvesting operation ol the cane, leavingthe stalk its original length. This is a very expensive and tediousoperation and at best `the ivork isr As a practical matter, the sheathsespecially on sorghum are seldom removed at all.

It has been found that the tops, leaves, sheaths and trash can be Vmuchmore effectively and less laboriously removed at the sirup or sugarfactory by cleaning` process prio-r to Vfeeding the stalks to the canemills. Through the employment oil this novel apparatus th e sugar orsorghum cane can be harvested in the lield either with, a corn binder orby hand Without any preparatory ivork. By passing the harvested ranethrough a. top-removing element, the tops are removed. Then, by cuttingthe stalks and remaining' trash, leaves and sheaths into sections, theWhole is converted into a loose mass of short sections of stalks, inwhich the leaves as Well as sheaths and trash are detached from thestalks. The stalk sections may then easily be separated trom the Wastesheath and trash material preparatory to the extraction.

The object of the invention is to provide an improved apparatus forpreparing cane `tor extraction.

Other objects of the invention will more 'fully appear from thefollowingdescription and the accompanying drawings and will be pointedout in the annexed claims.

In the accoinpanyinc drawings, there has been disclosed a structuredesigned to carry out the objectsot the invention, but it is `to beunderstood that the invention is not coniined to the exact featuresshoivn, as various changes may be made Within the scope o'l" the claimswhich iolloiv.

in the drawings:

Figure 'l is a side elevation of the apparat-us;

Figure Q is a view vpartially in plan and partially in section on theline 2-2 of Figure 3;

Figi e 3 is a side elevation of `the topremoving mechanism and anend'vieiv of the associated conveyor; j

Figure l is a detailed vi'ev.' ci' the conveyor driiie and stop-motion;

Figure 5 is a detail vieiv in side elevation of one of the top-removingdevices;

f Figure -6 is adetail yshowing the :bracket a` preparatory or mountingof the movable knife of a topV removing device;

Figure 7 is a sectional view on the line ff F' r.

4 r o igure o, Y

Figure 3 1s a plan view of the cutting or Vsectioning mechanism; and

liled August 16, 19:2()0115 which his application is divisional.

The cane. as received from thelield. is first treated by thetop-removing mechanism. The cane is deposited upon theV inclinedplatform 1. Such platform is preferably stationary and means areprovided thereover.

for causing the harvested cane to travel Such means are here shown as aplurality of endless chains 2. Tlach of these chains travels ,over uppersprocket wheels 3 and lower sprocket wheels at. The three upper sprocketWheels are each fast upon a shaft 5 while the lower sprocket wheels -tare similarly mounted upon a shaft 6 rotatably borne in bearingsprovided by the brackets 7. The 'platform and brackets are suitablysupported as by standards 3. The upper sprocket shaft 5 is actuated by achain 9 engaging a sprocket. 101 fast upon the shaft 5. The chain 9 isdriven by a sprocket- 11 fast upon a stub shaft 12 which bears a gear 13in mesh with a pinion 1a upon the counter-shaft 15. The counter-shaft 15has also fast thereon a pulley 16 engaged by a bolt 17 running overidlers 18 borne by the leg 19 of the adjacent conveyer frame. The belt17 is in turn driven by a pulley 2O fast upon the ina-in driven power orline' shaft 21. This line-shaft 21 is actuated by Va suitable powermeans not necessary7 here to be shown.

The three chains 2 are provided with studs 22 which upwardly project atspaced intervals from the chains. The function of the studs 22 is toengage and upwardly carryY the harvested cane over the platform 1.

The harvested cane is first placed upon the platform 1 so as to beconveyed upwardly by the studs 22 of the chains 2. The seed heads ortops are manually arranged so that the cane portion adjacent the topsmay be severed from the remainder of the cane. This severance iseffected in this mechanism by the means lof the triangular shaped knife25. Two similar and rearwardly spaced severing devices are here shown.The pur` pose of employing two 'such severing devices is to permit anoperative to re-arrange any cane which was not'topped by the firstknifedue to any negligence in initial arrangement of the cane upon the chains2.

.These two severing devices-fare alike and but one will be necessary tobe described. The knife 25 is mounted upon a bar 26 which isreciprocally slidable in bracket 2Tv carried by the frame 2S of theplatform. An upper stationary blade 29 and a lower stationary blade 30downwardlyproject from the brackets 27 in spaced relation. The spacebetween the divergent opposed edges of the stationary blades issufficient to permit entry of the cane to beV topped. The knife 25 isadjacent the inner face of the two stationary blades and co-operatesthere with in its reciprocating movement to sever the tops from thecane. The knife 25 is actuated in timed. relation to the movement of thecane by the chains so that upon successive -aisings of the knife 25.vsuccessive amounts of the top end portions of the cane enter between thestationary blades and fre successively severed by the downward strokes.ln practical operation. the chains preferably travel between vtwenty andforty feet per minute and the knife strokesare accordingly timed. c Eachreciprocating bar 26 of each knife 25 is provided with a rod 31pivotally secured thereto and the lower end of each rod 31 is pivotallyborne by an eccentrically mounted pin 32. The two severing devices areslightly transversely offset. Hence, while the eccentric pin 32 of thelower knife rod is borne by a sprocket 33. the eccentric pin 23 of theupper knife. rod is borne by a disk 211 fast on the shaft 15 which alsohas fast thereon another sprocket 33.

Each of the two sprockets 33 is suitably journaled on the platform frameand the forward sprocket is driven by means of the chain 34 which iscarried by the rear sprocket fast upon the previously mentionedcountershaft 15. The seed-heads or tops. uponremoval, drop into a hopper35 from which they Ina-y be subsequently removed for seeding, feeding orfuel purposes.

The cane` after top-removal,v is next presented tothe cutting meanswhich functions to cut the cane into relatively short sections. As thisnovel apparatus is at present employed the cane is cut into sectionsabout four and one-half inches to five inches in length. This particularapparatus is adjusted to treat sorghum cane in which the free leaf isabout twenty-four inches while the sheath closely adjacent the stalk isabout ten inches. Hence. when the cane is cut into four and one-halfinch sections, the maximum sheath portion remaining on the stalk is onlyfour and one-half inches while the 'whole leaf and a portion of thesheath is separated therefrom.'

A conveyer is positioned below thelevel of the upper terminal edge ofthe platform 1 automatically to receive the topped cane as it is carried'over the edge and dropped therefrom.. This conveyer' preferably conlli) vsists of two opposed endless chains 36 to lation to form anendless apron to convey thecane thereon. As the topped cane drops uponthis traveling apron, the cane is presented to the cutting `means withthe bottom or butt end first. Rearwardl adjacent the top-remover, t-heapron chains 36 engage opposed. idler' sprockets 38 fast on a studshaft't rotatably borne by the standard 8 and the leg 19 (see Figure 3)."F or rvardly, the chains 36 engage and are driven by two similaropposed sprockets 40 which are keyed to a shaft 41 (see Fig ure 4).

As the cutting means is of the reciprocating knife type which has aneffective drawing action in transversely slicing the cane into thedesired short sections, it is there-` fore preferable to provide theconyeyer VWith an intermittent motion so 'that during the cutting orslicing operation the presented cane is held stationary. The means forintermittently driving `the shaft ll ivili be pointed out subsequentlyin connection With the description of the operation of the cuttingmeans.

A plurality of idler rollers l2 are rotatably journaled on bracketscarried by the longitudinal support LB of the conveyer frame. The tivoendless chains l36 move over the surfaces of these rollers which aid -insupporting the load during the Working travel of the apron. It ispreferable to provide a supplemental member moving both adjacent to andin the same direction as the working apron. The purpose of thissupplemental `member or `apron is to hold the cane firmly when it isapproaching and also during the slicing operation. This supplementalapron is similar to the conveyer apron and consists of `opposed chainsf4 Yhaving bars transversely secured thereto.

These chains are mounted upon opposed sprockets 46 and 47 rotatablyborne by the eonveyer frame. The rear sprockets 47 are preferably keyedto a studshaft 48 which has also fast'thereon a sprocket 49 by means ofwhich lthe supplemental apron is driven Yfrom the apron shaft il bymeans of a chain 50 driven by a `sprocket 5l fast on vthe shaftv el (seeFigure 8). The chain 50 is .engaged by the idlers 52 and 53, rotatablyborne by the conveyerrframe. By means of this drive, adjacent andopposed faces of the txvoa'prons are driven inthe same direc tion and atthe saine vrate of speed. Like- Wise, as the apron is intermittentlydriven from the shaft ai, the supplemental apron will lsimilarly beintermittently driven.- The means for cutting the presented caneinto-sections is located adjacent the forni'ard terminus of thelconveyer. A platform 4 54e entends transversely the front end of theconveyer and is adapted to receive the cane as discharged thereon by theconveyer. The central major portion of the foundation is cut away, as isshown in dotted lines in Figures l and e, to form an upward continuationof a chute 55 provided through the preferably concrete foundation uponwhich is mounted the'cut-ting means. This chute is adapted to receivethe sectioned cane. The cutting element consists of an elongated knifebar 56 carrying a knife 5T. The knife bar is terminally mounted 1nbearing boxes 58 pivotally carried on pins 59 eccentrically mounted ondisks 6() and 6l keyed respectively to shafts 6:2 and G3. Both shaftsare rotatably mounted in bearings (ist provided by the base of thecutting means. The shaft 63 has a pulley GG keyed thereto which isactuated by a belt 67 by a pulley 68 on the line shaft 2l. The cuttingmeans is therefore driven from the line shaft. Upon the ends of theshafts 62 and G3 opposite to the disks and Gl are keyed Wheels 69. Aconnecting rod 70 has its terminals pivoted to bearing boxes 7leccentrically mounted on the wheels 69. This connecting rod ispreferably a quadrant `in ad Yance of the knife bar 5G. A. bevel gear T2is keyed to the shaft 62 and meshes with the gear 73 carried by a studshaft T4. journaled on. the base 65. This shaft Tet has a disk T 5 keyedthereon. A connecting rod 7G is borne at one end of a bearing box T7eccentrically mounted on the disk and its other end is pivoted to one'end portion of a rocker arm T8 freely mounted on the shaft al. .-L dogT9 is pivotally mounted on the upper portion of the rocker arm 78, asshown in Figure l. The dog 79 is adapted to engage the teeth of aratchet 8O which is fast on the shaft el whereby the shaft is given anintermittent rotation in one direction. The cane-presenting` apron isthereby actuated by and in timed relation to the cutting mechanismthrough. the shaft 4l as previously stated In order that the momentum ofthe traveling apron may be arrested, a. stop motion is employed. A drum8l is ykeyed to the shaft all and is peripherally engaged by a brakeband S2 of the external contracting type. The brake band 2 isalternately contracted upon the drum and released therefrom b v means ofpivotally joined links S3 pivotallf.Y borne at the lower end by thelower portion of the rocker arm 78 and at the upper end pivotally isseated the right to engage a ratchet tooth in order to rotate theratchet in counter clockwise direction toward `the completion of Whichmotion the brake band will be tightened on its drum and movement of theshaft il arrested.

A recess 8G extends transversely of the platform 5e. fr bar 87,preferably of steel, in this recess and is longitudinally slotted toreceive the knife edge. Preferably the recess SG is inclined at itsloiver surface, as shown in dotted lines in Figure 9. The lower face ofthe bar is similarly inclined. This inclination of the bottom surface ofthe recess and bar permits of a wearcompensating adjustment of the barS7 by means of the adjusting screw 88 received in threaded engagement`in an aperture leading to the recess 86.

After sect-ioning by the knife, the cane drops by gravity down the chute55 to an elongated upright chamber 90. Ther-ein the cane is preferablyraised by a suitably driven endless carrierof the bucket type. The caneas it is scooped up by the successive buckets is in relatively shortsections. Not only are the valuable stalks so cut1 but also are theleaves, trash, Weeds, etc. The cane material may thus be elevated forsubsequent deliveryl to other means for separating the stalks and theWaste material, such, for example, as a lscreening and air blast device.

rthere is thus provided a simple and etlicient apparatus for the toppingof the cane, for the automatic conveyance of the topped cane and for itsoperatively timed'preserrtation to the sectioning mechanism, Whereat thecane material is cut into sections ready for the simple and facileseparation of the stalks from the Waste material.

Having thus described my invention what I claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters-Patent is:

1. In an apparatus for preparingcane for extraction, the combination ofa conveyer adapted to have the harvested cane transversely positionedthereon with the top portions arranged at one'side thereof, opposedmembers positioned adjacent the side of the conveyer and adapted toreceive the top portion of the cane therebetween, cutting meansco-operable with said opposed members to sever the cane tops and meansto actuate said conveyer and said cutting means.

2. In an apparatus for preparing cane for extraction, the combination ofa conveyer adapted to have the harvested cane transversely positionedthereon with the top portions arranged at one s ide thereof, opposedmembers positioned adjacent the side of the conveyer and adapted toreceive the top portion of the cane therebetween, cutting meansco-operable With said opposed members to sever the cane tops, and meansto actuate said conveyer and said cutting means in timed relation.

3. In an apparatus for preparing cane for extraction, the combination ofa conveyer adapted to have the harvested cane transversely positionedthereon with the top por- F tions arranged at one side thereof, aplurality of cutting means Ipositioned in rearwardly spaced relation atone side of the conveyer whereby the conveyer successively presents thecane to the cutting means so that a subsequent cutting means may severany tops remaining on the cane after the passage beyond the firstcutting means.

4C. In an apparatus for preparing cane for extraction, the combinationof a conveyer adapted to have the harvested cane transversely positionedthereon with the top portions arranged at one side thereof, a pluralityof cutting means positioned in rearwardly spaced relation at one side ofthe conveyer, the successive cutting means being transversely olfset,whereby the conveyer presents the cane to the first cutting means andthe cane tops may b-e thereby sev ered from the stalks and any unseveredcane may be manually moved transversely during conveyance to asubsequent offset eutting means and thereby severed.

5. In an apparatus for preparing cane 'for extraction, the combinationof means automatically to remove' the tops from the harvested cane, aconveyei` adapted automatically to receive and convey the topped canetherefrom, cutting means to cut the conveyed cane into sections, andmeans for actuating said cutting means and conveyer in timed relation.

6. In an apparatus for preparing cane for extraction, the combination ofmeans automatically to remove the tops from the harvested cane, aconveyer adapted automatically to receive and convey the toppedcanetherefrom, reciprocatingv cutting means to cut the conveyed cane intosections, and means for actuating said cutting means, and means forintermittently actuating said conveyer in timed relation to saidreciprocating cutting means whereby the conveyer is not actuated duringthe cutting operatie-n.

7. In an apparatus for preparing cane for extraction, the combination ofafconveyer to receive and convey cane, reciprocating cutting means tocut the conveyed cane into sections, means to actuate the cutting means,means intermittently to actuate said conveyer in timed relation to thereciprocating cutting means whereby the conveyer is not actuated duringthe cutting operation, and a brake to hold the conveyor from movement ineither direction during the cutting operation. i

8. In an apparatus for preparing cane for extraction, thecombination ofa coniavaevo Vveyer to receive and convey the cane, re-

ciprocating` cutting` means to cut the con` veyed cane into sectionsmeans to actuate the cut-ting;1 means, means intermittently to actuatesaid conveyer in timed relation to the reciprocatingy cutting` meanswhereby the convever is not actuated during` the cutting operation, anda stop-motion to arrest the conveyer during the cutting operation.

9. In an apparatus :tor preparing cane for extraction, the combinationot a conveyer to receive and convey cane, reciproeating` cutting meansto cut the conveyed caneinto sections, means to actuate the cuttin Tmeans. a ratchet adapted to actuate said conveyer, a reciprocally drivendog adapted intermittently to rotate the ratchet in timed relation tothe cutting means Whereby the conv ver is not. actuated during' thecutting; operation, and a brake to lhold the conveyor from movement ineither direction during' the cutting,` operation.

10. In an apparatus for preparing` cane tor extraction, the combinationoi a convcyer to receive and convey cane, reciproeatingcutting' means tocut the conveyed cane into sections, means to actuate the cutting means,a ratchet adapted to actua-te said c-onveyer, a reciprocally driven dogadapted intermittently to rotate the ratchet in timed relation to thecutting` means whereby the conveyer is not actuated during the cuttingoperation, and a stop-motion cooperable with said reciprocally drivendogto arrest the conveyer during the. cutting operation.

l1. In an apparatus for preparing cane for extraction, the combinationof a conveyer to receive and convey cane, reciprocating cutting means tocut the conveyed cane into sections, means to actuate the cutting means,a ratchet adapted to actuate the conveyer, a dog` driven by said cuttingmeans and adapted intermittently to rotate the ratchet in timed relationto the cutting means whereby the conveyer is not actuated during thecutting operation, a brake-drum to arrest conveyer movement7 and abrakeband co-operable with said dog to arrest conveye-r movement duringthe cutting` operation.

12. In an apparatus for preparing cane for extraction, the combinationott a conveyer to receive and convey cane, cutting means to cut theconveyed cane into sections. means for actuating the cuttingmeans, asupplemental member co-operalole with said conveyer to hold the canewhen presented tothe cutting; means by the conveyer, and means to holdthe conveyor from movement in either direction during the cuttingoperation.

13. In an apparatus tor preparing cane for extraction.` the combinationof a conveyer to receive and convey cane, cutting means to cut theconveyed cane into sections, means 'for actuating` the cutting` means, asupplemental member co-operable with said conveyer to hold the cane onsaid con* veyer when the cane is approachingT and during the cuttingoperation, means Jfor actuating said supplemental member in timedrelation to the conveyer, and means to hold the conveyor from movementin either direction during the cutting operation.

la. In an apparatus for preparingr cane. for extraction, the combinationof a conveyer to receive and convey cane, cutting means to cut theconveyed cane into sections,y means tor actuating the cutting means, asupplemental membe1-co-opeiable With said conveyor to hold the cane onsaid conveyer when the cane is approaching and during the cuttingoperation, means intermittently to actuate said conveyer and saidsupplemental member in timed relation to the cuttingmeans whereby saidconveyer and said member are not actuated during the cutting operation`and means to hold the conveyor from movement in either direction duringthe cutting operation.

In Witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this 13th day ofFebruary, 1922,

EDWARD WESSALE

